Posted: 04th Mar, 2011 By: MarkJ


BT has confirmed that it hopes to reach approximately
270,000 UK homes with its new fully fibre optic 110Mbps capable
Fibre-to-the-Premises ( FTTP ) superfast broadband ISP technology by
September 2011. The announcement was made during a media visit to the operators current
Bradwell Abbey (
Milton Keynes) trial.
FTTP technology takes the
fibre optic cable directly to your home or business. As a result it almost completely bypasses the existing (slow) copper network and is able to deliver much faster connection speeds. See our recent -
Examining BT's 110Mbps fttp Fibre Optic Broadband - article for more.
Officially BT has yet to launch its FTTP solutions as a commercial product, although the announcement is expected soon (before the summer). However FTTP will ultimately only account for a small slice of BT's
Next Generation Access (NGA) rollout (
about 2.5 Million premises), with the bulk coming from its slower 'up to' 40Mbps FTTC services.
BT's Current FTTP-Rollout Plan (Name Order)
ASHFORD, MIDDLESEX - Surrey - Jun 2011
BENTON - Tyne & Wear - Mar 2012
BIRMINGHAM CENTRAL - West Midlands - Mar 2012
BLACKFRIARS - Greater Manchester - Dec 2011
BOSCOMBE - Dorset - Sep 2011
BROUGHTON - Lancashire - Sep 2011
CALDICOT - Gwent - Dec 2011
CHAFFORD - Essex - Sep 2011
CHESTER SOUTH - Cheshire - Mar 2011
CULLINGWORTH - West Yorkshire - Sep 2011
DINNINGTON - South Yorkshire - Dec 2011
DUNDEE PARK - Tayside - Sep 2011
EDINBURGH FOUNTAINBRIDGE - Lothian - Dec 2011
EDINBURGH NEWINGTON - Lothian - Sep 2011
EDINBURGH WAVERLEY - Lothian - Dec 2011
ERITH - Greater London - Mar 2012
ETWALL - Derbyshire - Sep 2011
EWELL - Surrey - Sep 2011
EXETER - Devon - Jun 2011
FOLESHILL - West Midlands - Mar 2012
FOREST HILL - Greater London - Jun 2011
GLASGOW LANGSIDE - Strathclyde - Mar 2012
HAMILTON - Strathclyde - Mar 2012
HAMPTON - Hampshire - Dec 2011
HARDWICKE - Gloucestershire - Dec 2011
HEADLESS CROSS - Hereford & Worcester - Dec 2011
HILLSIDE, HEREFORD & WORCESTER - Hereford & Worcester - Sep 2011
HOLMES CHAPEL - Cheshire - Sep 2011
HOLMFIRTH - West Yorkshire - Sep 2011
HOOTON - Cheshire - Mar 2012
IRLAM - Greater Manchester - Sep 2011
IVYBRIDGE - Devon - Sep 2011
KIRBY MUXLOE - Leicestershire - Dec 2011
LEYTONSTONE - Greater London - Mar 2011
LIVERPOOL CENTRAL - Merseyside - Dec 2011
LONGTON, LANCASHIRE - Lancashire - Sep 2011
MALONE - Northern Ireland - [Date Not Set]
MALTBY - South Yorkshire - Mar 2012
MANCHESTER CENTRAL - Greater Manchester - Sep 2011
MAYFAIR - Greater London - Mar 2012
MIDCALDER - Lothian - Dec 2011
MOUNTWOOD - Merseyside - Dec 2011
NESTON - Cheshire - Mar 2012
NEWCASTLE CENTRAL - Tyne & Wear - Mar 2012
PENCOED - Mid Glamorgan - Dec 2011
PLYMOUTH - Devon - Sep 2011
PONTELAND - Northumberland - Mar 2012
PORTLAND - Dorset - Mar 2012
PRUDHOE - Northumberland - Dec 2011
RADLETT - Hertfordshire - Mar 2012
RINGWAY - Greater Manchester - Dec 2011
ROYAL - Merseyside - Sep 2011
SOUTHAMPTON - Hampshire - Sep 2011
STREETLY - West Midlands - Dec 2011
TAUNTON - Somerset - Dec 2011
THAMES DITTON - Surrey - Sep 2011
TRAFFORD - Greater Manchester - Mar 2012
WESTHOUGHTON - Greater Manchester - Mar 2012
WOODHAM FERRERS - Essex - Sep 2011
YORK - North Yorkshire - Mar 2011
It should be noted that the above telephone exchanges will also support BT's FTTC service alongside FTTP. BT is also running similar FTTP trials in
Highams Park (London),
Kesgrave (Suffolk),
Leytonstone and
York. The fibre optic cable itself will be carried over existing telegraph poles and through their underground cable ducts.
However, despite the faster download speeds, BT is not initially expected to offer consumers a truly symmetric (same speed both ways) performance. Instead its consumer
upload speeds will initially be slower, running at
15-30Mbps. Customers are likely to pay a premium for the top-end 100Mbps speeds.
Meanwhile other reports have claimed that BT is reaching an additional 70,000-80,000 premises (300 street cabinets) with its FTTC/P services each week. That's good but it'll take awhile longer before BT achieves its first target of
40% population coverage in 2012.